includesdepends

Includesdepends is a term used in software engineering to describe a combined annotation or data structure that lists both the header file includes and the build or runtime dependencies of a module. It is not a formal standard, but a design pattern or metadata convention used in certain build systems, documentation pipelines, and code analysis tools. The idea is to unify two related but separate concepts—which headers a module requires at compile time, and which libraries or resources it depends on at link or run time—into a single source of truth.

Typically, an includesdepends entry specifies two lists: includes, for files that must be available during compilation, and depends, for libraries or artifacts required to build or execute. Tools parsing includesdepends can construct include graphs to validate header availability and detect include cycles, while also building dependency graphs for linking and deployment. This can improve consistency and reduce duplication when the same dependencies are relevant for multiple stages of the pipeline.

Usage varies by project; some adopt a dedicated metadata file, others embed the information as annotations in code or as part of a manifest. While includesdepends can streamline maintenance and tooling, it can also introduce complexity if kept out of sync with actual code changes, so it benefits from automation and clear ownership.

See also: include directives, dependency management, build system metadata.